Luke 9:1-36

¹Jesus called the twelve disciples together. He gave them power and authority over all demons, and the ability to heal diseases.

²Then he sent them out to proclaim God's kingdom and to heal the sick.

³“Take nothing with you for the journey,” he told them. “No staff, no bag, no bread, no money, not even any extra clothes.

⁴Whatever house you enter, stay there, and when you leave, leave from there.

⁵If people refuse to accept you, shake the dust off your feet when you leave town as a warning against them.”

⁶They left and went around the villages, announcing the good news and healing everywhere they went.

⁷Herod the tetrarch had heard about all that was happening, and he was very puzzled. Some were saying that John had been raised from the dead;

⁸others that Elijah had appeared; still others that one of the ancient prophets had come back to life.

⁹Herod said, “There's no question I beheaded John. So who is this man? I'm hearing all these things about him.” And he tried to find a way to meet Jesus.

¹⁰When the apostles returned they reported to Jesus what they had done. Then he left with them and went to a town called Bethsaida.

¹¹However, the crowds found out where he was going and followed him there. He welcomed them and explained the kingdom of God to them, and healed those who needed healing.

¹²Late in the day, the twelve disciples came to him and said, “You should send the crowd away now so they can go to the villages and farms nearby and find a place to stay and food to eat—there's nothing here where we are.”

¹³“You give them something to eat!” said Jesus. “All we have here are five loaves and two fish—unless you want us to go and buy food for everyone,” they said.

¹⁴There were about five thousand men present. “Sit them down in groups of about fifty,” he told his disciples.

¹⁵The disciples did so, and everybody sat down.

¹⁶Jesus picked up the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he blessed the food and broke it into pieces. He kept on giving the food to the disciples to share with the people.

¹⁷Everybody ate until they were full, and then twelve baskets of leftovers were collected.

¹⁸At another time, when Jesus was praying in private with just his disciples with him, he asked them, “All these crowds of people—who do they say I am?”

¹⁹“Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and still others say one of the ancient prophets risen from the dead,” they replied.

²⁰“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” “God's Messiah,” Peter replied.

²¹Jesus gave them strict orders not to tell anybody about this.

²²“The Son of man must experience terrible sufferings,” he said. “He will be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the religious teachers. He will be killed, but on the third day he will rise again.”

²³“If any one of you wants to follow me, you must deny yourself, pick up your cross daily, and follow me,” Jesus told all of them.

²⁴“For if you want to save your life, you will lose it; and if you lose your life for my sake, you will save it.

²⁵What do you benefit by gaining the whole world if you end up lost or destroyed?

²⁶If you are ashamed of me and my message, the Son of man will be ashamed of you when he comes in his glory, and in the glory of the Father and the holy angels.

²⁷I tell you the truth, some standing here won't taste death until they see the kingdom of God.”

²⁸About eight days later, after he had told them this, Jesus took Peter, John, and James with him and went up a mountain to pray.

²⁹While he was praying, his face changed in appearance, and his clothing became a dazzling white.

³⁰Two men appeared in brilliant glory. They were Moses and Elijah, and they began to talk with Jesus.

³¹They spoke about his death, which would soon happen in Jerusalem.

³²Peter and the others were asleep. When they woke up they saw Jesus in his glory, and the two men standing next to him.

³³As the two men were about to leave, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it's great to be here. Let's make some shelters: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” He really didn't know what he was saying.

³⁴While he was speaking a cloud came and spread over them. They were terrified as they entered the cloud.

³⁵A voice spoke from the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, the Chosen One. Listen to him!”

³⁶When the voice finished speaking, Jesus was there alone. They kept this to themselves, and didn't tell anyone at that time what they'd seen.